Posted on August 11, 2023
Categories: assessments, English Learners (ELs), equity, literacy, math, Star

The ACCESS assessment is administered to English Learners (ELs) annually each winter to measure their progress toward English proficiency. Star Computer Adaptive Tests (CATs) are a suite of assessments administered 3-4 times during the school year to students in grades K-12 that measure students’ reading and math skills, monitor achievement and growth, and track how well students understand skills aligned to state and Common Core standards. Although some ELs are excused from participation in Star, most take Star Reading and Math. This report examines EL performance on the ACCESS and EL performance on Star within the context of ACCESS performance.

Key findings include:

  • English Learners’ ACCESS and Star performance were generally aligned with each other. For example, ELs who scored in the highest ACCESS levels, on average, also scored in the highest Star performance groups, and ELs who scored in the lowest ACCESS levels, on average, also scored in the lowest Star performance groups.
  • Nearly all students, on average, displayed growth on Star Reading and Math from fall to spring, regardless of their ACCESS level. In half of the ACCESS levels, students even moved to higher Star Reading performance groups from fall to spring.

An addendum to the report compares NPR in District Administrative Records and NPR converted from NCE (in the original report). This addendum is supplementary to the original report and is not intended to be read on its own.